Rotary electric switch



United States Patent 72] inventor Kenneth C. Allison Crystal Lake, Ill.

[21] Appl. No. 821,825

[22] Filed MayS, 1969 [45] Patented Dec. 15, 1970 [73] Assignee Kollsman Instrument Corporation Elmhurst, N.Y. a corporation of New York [54] ROTARY ELECTRIC SWITCH [50] Field of Search.

................................. ZOO/11D, 16688, 166ICTS, 168A [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,2l3,2ll 10/1965 Allison 200/11(D) zoo/mo Primary ExaminerRobert K. Schaefer Assistant Examiner-LR. Scott AttorneyStanley Hoods ABSTRACT: A rotary electric switch having a rotor and a stator provided with a rotor-receiving opening, and cooperating contacts supported on said rotor and said stator including first and second coplanar stator contacts occupying a plane intermediate opposite faces of said stator spaced apart a distance in excess of 90 circumferentially of an arc in which said rotor travels and rotor contacts simultaneously engageable with said stator contacts, each of said rotor contacts having axially opposed jaws defined by branches formed integrally with an arcuately formed conductor strip seated in an annular clearway between the area occupied by said stator contacts and the hub of the rotor.

PATENTED DEB] 519m lnvenror Kenneth C. Alllson By WM Attorney ROTARY ELECTRIC SWITCH This invention relates to a rotary electric switch wherein multiple contacts secured to a fixed statorof insulating material have coplanar end portions projecting radially inwardly from the wall of a rotor receiving opening in said stator so as to occupypo'sitions inthe path of .a pair of rotor contacts supported on a rotor in said opening whereby said contacts secured to the stator are sequentially engaged by said rotor contacts incident to rotation of said rotor about an axis centrally of said opening and perpendicular to the plane common to said end portions of the stator contacts. a

It is an object ofthis invention to provide a switch of the type indicated in which novel features of construction and assembly incorporated therein simplify its production with resulting cost savings and improved quality whilealso enhancing the design flexibility of the switch in meeting the demands of everwidening diversity of switchcircuitry-patterns. a

It is also an object of this invention to provide a rotary switch wherein an arcuately formed'conductor strip seated in ann annular clearway on the rotor between the area occupied by the stator contacts and the hub of the rotor has integral branchesdefining a first pair of axially opposed contact jaws and a second pair of axially opposed contact jaws whereby said first and second pairs of contactjaws are linked by said strip at-a distance apart in excess of 90circumferentially of saidclearway. j

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent in the following description and the accompanying drawings wherein: j

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a rotary'electric switch looking in the direction of the arrows along line 1 1 in FIG. 2 with portions of the rotor. assembly removed. I '1 FIG. 2 is a section taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the rotor assembly and one of the rotor contact members.

A switch incorporating .the features of this invention is adaptable for use in agreatvariety of applications wherein a plurality of circuits are to be established. The switch shown in the drawings and described hereinafter shows only one of the many contact arrangements available in a switch'embodying the present invention. a a

In the particular embodiment shown herein, reference numeral 10 designates a stator of molded insulating material and having a rotor-receiving opening 11 intersecting opposite faces of the stator. Exposed end portions of conductor strips 12 embedded in the stator l between opposite faces thereof define stator contacts 13 which occupy a common plane within the confines of the rotor-receiving opening 11' while spaced apart circumferentially of the'wall' of said opening. A rotor operable via a drive shaft 14 to rotate within the opening 11 in the stator about an axis centrally of the opening and perpendicular to the plane occupied by said stator contacts 13 includes a first rotor section 15 and a-seco'nd rotor section 16. Each section 15 and 16 is forined of suitable insulating material. As illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawing, rotor section 15 is provided with a hub portion 17 in axially extending relation to such interfitting engagement as to prevent withdrawal of the tab 20 from interlocked engagement with the surface 21 of the hub 17. When the rotor sections 15 and 16 are thereby joined in rigid assembly, the areas of the rotor sections extending radially away from the hub portion 17 are spaced apart axially of the hub 17 to form an annular slot through which the stator contacts 13 have access to the area between the rotor sections 15 and 16.

Reference numeral 22 designates cylindrical axial extensions or division members formed integrally with the rotor section 15 between the area occupied by the stator contacts 13 and the .hub portion 17 of rotor section 15. The division members 22 are unifonnly spaced apart circumferentially of a cir cle concentric with the hub portion 17 and each member 22 substantially spans the distance between the rotor sections 15 and l6.--'lhe surface of the hub portion 17 ofrotor section 15 and the surface of the division members opposite thereto cooperate to form an annular clearway .23 therebetween,

while the space-between each neighboring pair'of division members 22 provides a radial clearway between said annular clearway 23 and the area-occupied by the stator contacts 13. A curved conductor strip 24, as shown in FIG. 3, is defined by a metallic band extending circumferentially of and confined within the annular clearway 23. The strip 24 .accord ingly includes segments of uniform dimension'which are in radial alignment with the radialv clearways between the division members 22'while portions of the strip 24 facing the division members 22 provide a series of spacer .areas of uniform dimension to which said segments of, the strip 24 are joined in alternating relation along meeting line's parallel to the axis of rotation of the rotor sections 15 and 16. Branches of selected segments of said strip 24 occupying positions within radial clearways in alignment with said selectedsegments provide pairs of resilient axially opposed contact jaws 25 and 26 which have sliding engagement with the stator contacts 13 as the rotor sections 15 and 16 are turned by the shaft 14. It will be observed that a vacant area of the strip 24 containing a continuity of two of said segments having no branches projecting therefrom separates a first pair of contact jaws '25 and 26 situated immediately to the left of the lower end of avertical line drawn diametrically of the switch as shown in FIG. I from a second pair of contact jaws 25 and 26 next in clockwise relation to said first pair of contact jaws 25 and 26 as viewed in FIG. 1. Another vacant area of the strip24 containing a continuity of three of said segments having no branches projecting therefrom separates said second pairof contact jaws 25 and 26 from .athird pair of contact jaws 25 and 26 next in clockwise relation to said second pair of contact jaws 25 and 26 as shown in FIG. 1. Accordingly, in a twelveposition switch 'as shown in the drawings, said first pair of contact jaws 25 and 26 and said third pair of contact jaws 25 and '26 are linked by the strip 24 at a distance apart in excess of 180 along an are the area of the section 15 in radially outlying relation to said hub portion. Means for joining rotor section16 to the hub portion 17 of rotor section 15 so as to establish a rigid axially aligned assembly includes a pair of coupling fingers 18 defined by axial extensions of the rotor section 16 along opposite edge 7 portions of the opening iniwhich the shaft 14 has driving fit with the rotary section 16. Pockets l 9iare formed in opposite wall portions of the opening in which the shaft 14 has driving fit with the hub 17 of rotor section 15 soas to position said pockets 19 in axial'aligned relation with the fingers 18 and thereby said fingers are received in and having interfitting engagement with said pockets 19. When thus fitted in the pockets 19 of the hub 17 of rotor section 15, a tab 20 at the terminal of each finger 18 has overlapping engagement with surfaces 21 of the hub 17' which face axially awayfrom the rotor section 16 to prevent axial separation of the rotor sections 15 and 16. It should also be noted that the surface of the shaft 14 and the surface of the fingers 18 facing the shaft have concentric with the axis of rotation of the rotor sections while said second pair of contact jaws 25 and 26 occupy a position at a distance away from the first and third pairs of contact jaws not less than 90 along said are. I

. Accordingly, a first stator contact 13 and a second stator contact 13 occupying circumferentially spaced-apart positions in excessof 90 along the path of rotation of the rotor contacts 25 and 26 may be simultaneously electrically connected via the conductor strip 24 and the axially opposed contact jaws 25 and 26 defined by the branches formed integrally with said conductor strip. I a.

A rim 15 along the edge of rotor sections15 facing the wall of the opening 11 in the stator 10 and a similar rim 16 along the corresponding edge of the rotor section 16 have engagement with the area of the stator contacts 13 between said wall of the opening 11 and that portion of the stator contacts 13 overlapped by the rotor contact jaws 25 and 26 to restrict axial movement of the rotor sections 15 and 16 relative to the freedom of movement is available so as to petmitisufficient shifting of the rotor contact jaws 25 and 26 to accommodate slight variances in the alignment of the stator cor itacts13' relarotor-receiving opening, said rotor havinga first section and a second section, each section having a hub portion, means connecting said hub portions, areas if said rotor sections extending radially outwardly of said hub portion thereof being spaced apart axially of said hub to'form an annular slot ithrough which the stator contacts have access to the area between said rotor sections, hub portion of said first rotor section defining an annular clearway between the area occupied by said stator contacts and said hub portion of the rotor sections, a curved conductor strip arcuately conforming toand circumferentially coextensive with saidclearway through an arc of not less than 90, a radially extending branch formed integrally with said conductor strip, a second radially extending branch formed integrally with said conductor strip at a distance from said first branch h along an arc of not less than if, said clearway defining means cooperating with said branches to releasably secure said conductor strip against relative displacement of said strip circumferentially of said clearway, and a pairof resilient axially opposed contact jaws defined by each of said branches of said conductor strip with which said stator contacts have sequential engagement in response to rotation of said rotor relative to said stator.

means cooperating with the hub portion of said first rotor section defining an annular clearway between the area occupied by said stator contacts and said hub portion of the rotor sections includes axially extending division membersformed integrally with said first rotor section in uniformly spaced apart 2. A rotary electric'switch according to claim 1 wherein said coupling fingers of the second rotor seqtionireiaxially aligned for reception in said pockets, each of saict'fingers'terminating in a tab having overlapping engagement with sur faces of the hub of the first rotor section bordering said pockets and facing away from the second rotor section to prevent axial separation of said rotor sections, and each of said fingers having engagement with saidtshaft, to prevent withdrawal of said fingers from said pockets in directions inwardly of the area occupied by the shaft.

4. in a rotary electric switch unit, a rotor, said rotor having an integral axially extended central hub portion, a rotor contact member having a support section defined by a conductor strip curved in conformity to the arc of ,a circle of sufficient diameter vacant encompass, said hub portion. of the rotor, said strip consisting of a series of segments of uniform dimension,- -and, a series of spacer areas of uniform dimension to which said segments are joined in alternating relation along meeting liens parallel to lines axis of rotor of the rotor with which said contact member is associated, a first pair of axially o posed resilrentcontact aws defined by integral radially ou wardly projecting branches of a first segment of said strip, a second pair of axially opposed resilient jaws defined by integral radially outwardly projecting branches of a secondsegment of said strip, said first and second segments circumferentially flanking; a vacant area ofv said strip containing a continuity of two or more segments having no branches projecting therefrom and containing the spacer areas with which 'said' first and second segments of said vacant area are joined, andmeans forscour-- ing said rotor contact member in operative position on said ,rotor, said securing means including a series of axially extending division members formed integrally with said rotor to define an annular clearway between said hub portion of the rotor and r the surfaces of said division members facing said hub portion in which said strip is confined to restrict relative displacement of said stripradially of said hub portion of the rotor, said division members occupying such spaced-apart positions circumferentially of said clearway asto provide for radial alignment of said segments of the strip with the areas between said division members while said strip is so confined in said clearway and to provide for engagement of each of said outwardly projecting branches of said strip with a pair of said division members in radial alignment with spacer areas of the strip which flank the segment of the strip from which said branch projects to restrict relative displacement of said 'str ip circumferentially V of said clearway. 

